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"The growth of entrepreneurship research has been accompanied by an increased convergence and institutionalization of the field. In many ways this is of course positive, but it also represents how the field has become 'mainstream' with the concomitant risk that individual scholars become embedded in a culture and incentive system that emphasizes and rewards incremental research questions, while reducing the incentives for scholars to conduct challenging research. This book challenges this status quo from accepted theories, methodologies and paradigmatic assumptions, to the relevance (or lack of) for contemporary practice and the impact of key journals on scholars' directions in entrepreneurship research. An invited selection of the younger generation of scholars within the field of entrepreneurship research adopt a critical and constructive posture on what has been achieved in entrepreneurship research, the main assumptions which underly it, but also open-up new paths for creative entrepreneurship research in the future. This is a must-read for all scholars, educators and advanced students in entrepreneurship research."--Publisher's website

A History of Entreprenership and Small Business Research -- The Roots of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Research -- The Emergence of an Academic Field -- The International Picture -- Pioneers—the Individuals who Created the Field -- Pioneers — Micro-level Analysis -- David Birch -- David Storey -- Zoltan Acs And David Audretsch -- Giacomo Becattini -- Pioneers — Micro-level Analysis -- Arnold Cooper -- Ian Macmillan -- Howard Aldrich -- Epilogue -- A Retrospective as a Future Outlook

PurposeA great deal of policy thinking in the last ten to 15 years has been driven by the insights gained from the so‐called "new growth theory". The theory emphasizes that investments in knowledge and human capital generate economic growth through spillover of knowledge, and the policy implication is that investments in knowledge and human capital are the best way to stimulate growth. However, there is a couple of missing links in the "spillover argument" in that the theory seems to disregard the role of the entrepreneur. The paper aims to answer the question: Why haven't entrepreneurship researchers become a strong voice regarding the understanding of the development of the knowledge economy?Design/methodology/approachThe author argues that a dynamic and innovative research field is characterized by a balance between the pursuit of new issues and knowledge in research, for example, by being sensitive for changes in society, and the development of existing knowledge, by integrating and validating the knowledge base already existing within the field.FindingsThe paper shows that one important reason for the lack of visibility of entrepreneurship research can be found in an internal scientific development of the research field – entrepreneurship research has become more and more theory‐driven and shows less sensitivity and openness for changes in society.Originality/valueThe article gives a critical reflection on the development of entrepreneurship as a research field. In this sense the article provides an increased understanding of the knowledge that is within the field, and gives also suggestions for the future development of the research field.

Liabilities of newness and smallness as well as other issues (e.g., "imprinting") that affect nascent firms represent foundational entrepreneurship issues. The articles in this Special Issue examine if and how these critical issues have changed over time, especially given recent innovations (e.g., crowdfunding) and other trends in society. We believe that a special issue devoted to these topics is especially timely not only because this research can inform current management theory, policy, and practice, but also because it has now been five and three decades, respectively, since the publication of Stinchcombe's and Aldrich and Auster's seminal works on these issues. These anniversaries, thus, provide an ideal time to reflect on findings, to date, and plot potential future research avenues.